Craig Mains | Technical Assistant - National Environmental Services ...

In recent years, the word “green” has become synonymous
with the environment. Cars, cleaning products,
and even certain laptops can be considered green if they
are environmentally friendly. But the green movement
hasn’t stopped there; it has also become an integral part
of numerous communities across the U.S.
Seattle, Washington, for instance, installed 16
stepped, vegetated cells to collect stormwater runoff from
approximately 72 acres. Monitoring results showed a 75-
to 80-percent reduction in total runoff and a 60-percent
reduction in peak flows. Other communities that have
successfully developed green infrastructure include
Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA), even more communities will be
going green.
American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed
ARRA into law. Its objectives, relative to state revolving
funds, are, “to preserve and create jobs and promote
economic recovery, … to provide investments needed to
increase economic efficiency by spurring technological
advances in science and health, …to invest in transportation,
environmental protection, and other infrastructure
that will provide long-term economic benefit…,” according
to a March 2, 2009, memorandum from James A. Hanlon,
director of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA) Office of Wastewater Management and
Cynthia Dougherty, director of EPA’s Office of Ground
Water and Drinking Water.
ARRA funds will increase the amount of money that is
available through state revolving funds. Congress appropriated
$4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving
Fund (CWSRF) and $2 billion for the Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) in addition to its annual
appropriation. EPA began issuing grants at the end of
March 2009, and these funds are available through September
30, 2010.
ARRA Special Conditions
Under ARRA, 20 percent of the CWSRF and of the
DWSRF must be used for the Green Project Reserve
(see below), and these projects must be under contract
or construction by February 17, 2010. “The idea is that
Congress believes that economic circumstances are so
dire that there is a need to move this money into the
economy to get these projects going and create jobs,”
says Peter Shanaghan, team leader with EPA’s Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund.
“In addition, projects must use American-made iron,
steel, and manufactured goods for construction (there are
waivers if a product is not available in America) and pay
prevailing wage rates as federally required under the
Davis-Bacon Act. Finally, because of the economic hardships
facing many states and communities, states must
provide at least 50 percent of their total capitalization
grant in the form of additional subsidy, which can be for
principle forgiveness, negative interest, or grants.” This is
in addition to SRF subsidies already taken. For example,
if a state receives $100 million, at least $50 million of the
funding from the grant would have to be provided as an
additional subsidy, and $20 million would have to be provided
for the Green Project Reserve.
What is the green project reserve?
There are four categories of projects that fall under
the Green Project Reserve. They are:
1. green (stormwater) infrastructure (technologies, and
practices that use natural systems – or engineered
systems that mimic natural processes – to enhance
overall environmental quality and provide utility services
such as green roofs, rain gardens, and alternative
sources of energy),
2. energy efficiency (projects that substantially
reduce energy consumption or produce clean energy),
3. water efficiency (reuse or conservation projects that
deliver equal or better services using less water), and
4. innovative environmental projects (projects that manage
water resources to prevent or remove pollution in
an economically sustainable way).
“Some examples of CWSRF Green Project Reserve
projects are stormwater rain gardens; water reuse systems;
wetland restoration; or replacing failed decentralized
wastewater treatment systems with better onsite or
cluster systems,” says Stephanie vonFeck, Green Project
Reserve Team, USEPA, CWSRF Branch. Some examples
of DWSRF Green Project Reserve projects include
installing new water meters in previously unmetered systems,
purchasing leak detection equipment, and improving
onsite facilities, such as installing green roofs for
stormwater runoff control and porous pavements.
“An entire project or just the ‘green’ components of an
SRF eligible project may count toward the 20-percent
Green Project Reserve,” says vonFeck. “Projects can be
stand-alone; they do not have to be part of a larger capital
improvement project.” Communities or utilities that are
interested in receiving assistance for a project must contact
their state SRF programs to be placed on the state’s
priority list for funding.
Making Your Case to Fund Traditional
Projects Under Green Project Reserve
Some traditional projects that are green-related may
also qualify toward the 20 percent Green Project Reserve.
For example, lower friction provided by a new
water distribution pipe could reduce the energy needed
to pump water through the distribution system. But before
the project can be counted toward the Green Project Reserve,
communities must develop a business case. A
business case is documentation of the reason a project
or project component qualifies for the Green Project Reserve.
A business case does this by identifying, both
technically and financially, substantial green benefits.
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